Early Life

• Galileo Galilei was born in Pisa, Italy in 1564, and from an early age was deeply interested and involved in science.
• At the young age of twenty, Galileo discovered the law of Pendulum, after observing a lamp that swung from the ceiling of a cathedral. This law was used to regulate clocks, and made Galileo immediately famous in the scientific community.
• By 1602, he invented military compass that could be used to accurately aim cannonballs.

Intrest In Astronomy

• Around 1609, rumors of an invention called the spyglass, were spread throughout Italy, and Galileo was driven to create one of his own.
• At the end of 24 hours of hectic construction and experimentation, he managed to create a rough copy of a 3 - power telescope that he would later develop into a 10- power telescope
• The first thing Galileo discovered with his new telescope, was that the moon had a rough, uneven and crater filled surface, contrary to earlier beliefs that said that the moon was perfectly smooth and polished.
• In January of 1610, Galileo managed to create a 30 -power telescope and direct it towards Jupiter, thus discovering that three "stars" he had observed earlier, were now all west of the planet and in a line!
• Due to Galileo's observations, theories began to circulate, saying that these stars were not stars at all, but some type of satellite orbiting around the gas giant.

Trouble with the Church

• In March in 1610, Galileo released a small book containing his discoveries. It was called Starry Messenger, and won him much public acknowledgement and praise from the scientific community
• After his book was published, he continued to discover more about the vast outer space. These discoveries included the moons of Saturn, sun spots and Venuses many transformations from a full disk to a silver fragment of light.
• His book focused on the Copernican system. Immediately, the book became popular with the public but not so much the church.
• In the following years, Galileo went on to look deeper into astronomy, paying close attention on Jupiter's moons, and our moon's effect on ocean tides. He created another book called "Dialogue on the Two Great Systems of the World"
• The pope ordered the book to be banned and for Galileo to appear before the church and spectators to be judged for his doings. In the end, he was publicly tortured and forced into confessing that all his discoveries were lies, and then sentenced to be under house arrest until his death in 1642.

Overview

• Galileo was consitered very intelligent for his time, but was questioned when he began to question the old and trusted beliefs of the church.

• His contribution and advancements to the telescope have been recognized as the Scientific Revolution of the 17th Century. Without his theories and inventions, our technology and understanding of astronomy would not be as developed as it is today.
• His work in mathematics inspired other scientists like Sir Isaac Newton to help devise his laws of gravity.
• Above all of his scientific accomplishments , Galileo Galilei was most recognized and remembered for his confidence in science, and willingness to stand for what he studied and believed in. Although he was ridiculed and tourtured for his theories, his loyalty still resided in science and all it has answered for mankind